LUCKNOW, May 2 -- Uttar Pradesh has launched real-time digital surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) using its own platform, and became the first state in India to do so, said mission director, National Health Mission, Pinky Jowel. Digital surveillance of VPDs has been rolled out on the Unified Disease Surveillance Platform (UDSP). Assessing the impact of vaccination on a disease is an effective way to measure progress, guide programme development and advocate for continuing programme support. "Bringing the VPD surveillance on to the UDSP will strengthen our understanding on vaccine-preventable diseases and help plan future actions better. This will enable real-time case reporting and accurate, reliable data collection, allowing rapid detection of outbreaks and the swift formulation of effective response strategies," Jowel said. Case-based surveillance for six vaccine-preventable diseases-namely Poliomyelitis (Acute Flaccid Paralysis), Measles, Rubella, Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus -has been ongoing under the Universal Immunisation Programme with support from WHO's National Public Health Support Network (NPSN)....